It’s a funny thing writing for the magazine when compared with posting on the forum. I sent the first article to Rod as I disappeared for a lovely 3 week holiday. I come back and see the article in print 96 hours before the dead-line for sending this to the editor! How different the on-line world is when there had been at least 10 responses to the forum version within the first 12 hours.
So what has been happening this month?
Firstly, there was surprise amongst regulars that the article was not edited, though personally, I was more surprised with the enquiry email I received from a “known” person within the club about one of the activities I covered last month, but that’s one for another time.
This week, (not enough room for the whole month) subjects discussed include:
On the last point, some lively debate took place that resulted in an on-line poll that has been viewed over 1000 times and shows a strong desire from the contributors not to change a successful on-line community.
Like last month, I asked for suggestions for this article and had the following thoughts:
One of the real benefits has been members travelling between adjacent areas to meet people they have communicated with on-line. With established groups this has been going on for years, so it is nothing new but in new areas like South London, lots of socialising has come about through the forum and the excellent event that Bob arranged at Brands Hatch (see last month) would not have been as well attended without it .
Lots of new members find the forum useful when they have technical questions or issues with their new pride and joy. Most of the time, if you post a question you will get a response within 2 hours. As you would expect, there are some real experts who offer all sorts of advice but one, Russ, aka Kryten, goes above and beyond in my opinion. He would get my vote for member of the year were it not for his colour blindness and bad taste in trailers.
Terry in Tenerife finds it useful as his magazine takes a long time to arrive and if you want a recommended part, supplier, garage or have a problem with your MOT, or want to try different tyre size, types of wheels, diff recommendations or just about anything else, there are 25,000 posts to search through before you even need to ask a question!
My favourite though was from one of the co-ordinators, who hadn’t seen the article as his magazine was delivered late. As with your ignition system, timing is everything.
When did you last look at the club web site? If you come to the forum via the web-site, why not stop on the way and have a look through. Carl has made a few subtle improvements, including making it possible to renew your membership on-line and he is currently working on making Kingpin’s articles available in the members area, which sounds like an excellent idea.
If you have enjoyed reading this and have not checked-out the forum or have not registered as a member, then why not have a look? It can be found via the SOC web site at http://www.stag.org.uk/index.aspx or if you get stuck, email me at stagforum@anvuk.com and I will help you get on-line.
Likewise, if you have haven’t enjoyed reading it, let me know your feelings and if they are publishable, they will be included somewhere.
I hope to see you on the forum soon
Graham
So what has been happening this month?
Firstly, there was surprise amongst regulars that the article was not edited, though personally, I was more surprised with the enquiry email I received from a “known” person within the club about one of the activities I covered last month, but that’s one for another time.
This week, (not enough room for the whole month) subjects discussed include:
- Formula 1 injustice – campaign for Lewis Hamilton[/b]
- The Enginuity Power Challenge and who is going?[/b]
- Advice on overhauling steering racks[/b]
- Cutting-out problem[/b]
- Soft top and brake woes[/b]
- Last minute up-dates on shows and events[/b]
- Car covers[/b]
- Several posts about how open or restricted the forum should be, who can view and how people access web-site members area.[/b]
On the last point, some lively debate took place that resulted in an on-line poll that has been viewed over 1000 times and shows a strong desire from the contributors not to change a successful on-line community.
Like last month, I asked for suggestions for this article and had the following thoughts:
One of the real benefits has been members travelling between adjacent areas to meet people they have communicated with on-line. With established groups this has been going on for years, so it is nothing new but in new areas like South London, lots of socialising has come about through the forum and the excellent event that Bob arranged at Brands Hatch (see last month) would not have been as well attended without it .
Lots of new members find the forum useful when they have technical questions or issues with their new pride and joy. Most of the time, if you post a question you will get a response within 2 hours. As you would expect, there are some real experts who offer all sorts of advice but one, Russ, aka Kryten, goes above and beyond in my opinion. He would get my vote for member of the year were it not for his colour blindness and bad taste in trailers.
Terry in Tenerife finds it useful as his magazine takes a long time to arrive and if you want a recommended part, supplier, garage or have a problem with your MOT, or want to try different tyre size, types of wheels, diff recommendations or just about anything else, there are 25,000 posts to search through before you even need to ask a question!
My favourite though was from one of the co-ordinators, who hadn’t seen the article as his magazine was delivered late. As with your ignition system, timing is everything.
When did you last look at the club web site? If you come to the forum via the web-site, why not stop on the way and have a look through. Carl has made a few subtle improvements, including making it possible to renew your membership on-line and he is currently working on making Kingpin’s articles available in the members area, which sounds like an excellent idea.
If you have enjoyed reading this and have not checked-out the forum or have not registered as a member, then why not have a look? It can be found via the SOC web site at http://www.stag.org.uk/index.aspx or if you get stuck, email me at stagforum@anvuk.com and I will help you get on-line.
Likewise, if you have haven’t enjoyed reading it, let me know your feelings and if they are publishable, they will be included somewhere.
I hope to see you on the forum soon
Graham
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